Talking with Erin Driscoll
performing in the Philadelphia production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide

interviewed by Joel Markowitz

Busy DC actress Erin Driscoll left town two years ago for New York. We were excited to have a chance to talk with her in one of the final performances of that fabulous production of Candide at the Arden in Philadelphia.

This locally trained actress took DC area theatre audiences by storm with her Helen Hayes Award winning performance as Hope Cladwell in Urinetown-The Musical, let her hair down as a very manic Rapunzel in Into The Woods, and played Marta, the suffering wife in Kiss of The Spider Woman, all at Signature. Other Washington theatres fell in love with her glorious voice. Who can forget her lovely Cinderella at Olney Theatre Center, and her adorable mouse in A Year with Frog and Toad at Round House Theatre?

Now red-headed and what the critics describe as “deliciously sultry”, Erin tells Joel Markowitz “I have a feeling that some of my DC contacts helped me get here… Paquette is a red-headed wench. I usually don’t get to play those kinds of roles. I usually play the ingenue…It’s been a lot of fun to switch gears.”

After singing many Sondheim scores, is Leonard Bernstein’s score as or more difficult to sing? “I find Sondheim rhythmically challenging… it’s fast paced and a lot of words..but with Bernstein, vocally you have to have a lot of operatic chops to get through…”

And a role she hasn’t played but would “kill” for? Listen to find out.

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Erin Driscoll is not only a wonderfully talented performer but also an adorable person. I attended a public event featuring her and Will Gartshore at Arlington Public Library just after “Urinetown” and just before “Assassins.” She was utterly charming and generous with her time and her thoughts on the performing arts. This podcast really captures her personality and is worth a listen.